Sleepless

For the entire night, Xu Mingyao did not sleep a wink.

Her mind kept echoing the few syllables and mumbled words Tao Yaoyao had whispered in her dreams.

Xu Mingyao could not confirm anything from those vague sounds and words.

But there was one thing Xu Mingyao was certain of...

...

Then, could her sleep talking be about...

An idea that Xu Mingyao found completely unbearable naturally surfaced in her mind.

Just glancing at that possibility from afar made Xu Mingyao feel so desperate that she could barely breathe.

No, that is not right!

It is not like that!

It could not be like that!

Before she could even see the thought clearly, Xu Mingyao hastily denied the possibility.

Xu Mingyao was convinced that Tao Yaoyao loved her.

If she did not love her, she would have long since avoided her like the plague, just as the people from her former harem had done.

She would not have stayed by her side after she lost everything.

She would not be working so hard to take care of and support her like she was doing now.

"She wouldn't."

"She wouldn't do that."

"She loves me."

"She wouldn't betray me."

"No."

"Absolutely not!"

A voice at the bottom of her heart screamed neurotically, repeating these words.

Immersed in these hysterical voices, Xu Mingyao's agitated emotions gradually calmed down.

But soon, her heart began to feel uneasy again.

Recalling the past month or two, Tao Yaoyao's occasional overtime, late returns, and some abnormal behaviors came to mind.

Xu Mingyao felt increasingly unsure.

Thinking carefully, those details she had never paid attention to before now flooded out all at once.

They stretched out their slender fingers, all pointing to the possibility Xu Mingyao was most unwilling to believe.

The more Xu Mingyao thought about it, the more afraid she became.

She felt as if her soul was being swept up and dragged down by these details one by one.

Falling toward a terrifying, bottomless abyss.

However, right above the bottomless abyss.

There was still a net called love suspended there, catching her and sustaining Xu Mingyao's last breath.

Xu Mingyao was absolutely certain that Tao Yaoyao loved her.

This was not just empty talk.

She had always proven it with her actions!

Yet, for those details that became increasingly conspicuous and impossible to ignore in her memory, Xu Mingyao could not find a reasonable explanation.

Xu Mingyao stared blankly for a long time.

The two opposing thoughts in her mind could not overthrow each other.

They both had their own backing.

But they always lacked a crucial piece of evidence.

A piece of evidence that could settle the matter once and for all.

Evidence?

Right!

Evidence!

Xu Mingyao carefully sat up.

She looked around, and her gaze quickly fell on Tao Yaoyao's phone resting on the nightstand.

Moving slowly and silently, she got out of bed.

Xu Mingyao went to the other side of the bed, picked up Tao Yaoyao's phone, turned around, and tiptoed out the door into the living room.

Tao Yaoyao never kept her guard up against Xu Mingyao.

There was no password on her phone.

Xu Mingyao could easily check all the messages inside.

In the pitch-black living room, Xu Mingyao curled up on the sofa in a posture that gave her a slight sense of security, holding the phone and expressionlessly searching through it for any suspicious information.

The electronic screen emitted a cold, white glow that fell on Xu Mingyao's exquisite and charming face, revealing a hint of coldness.

She looked through it like this for over half an hour.

Xu Mingyao scrolled all the way to the top of the work group messages but found nothing suspicious.

Aside from work, Tao Yaoyao's phone only had a few messages using work as an excuse to invite her out for dinner after her shift.

And without exception, Tao Yaoyao had rejected all these invitations.

Putting down the phone, Xu Mingyao's anxious heart settled slightly.

But a clean phone could not prove much.

Xu Mingyao still could not dispel the doubts in her heart.

Sitting on the sofa in a daze for a while, Xu Mingyao came up with another idea.

Tiptoeing back to the bedroom and putting the phone back in its place, Xu Mingyao lay back down on the bed.

Xu Mingyao wanted to pretend nothing had happened and go to sleep just like that. Tomorrow, after Tao Yaoyao went to work, she would secretly follow her to see if she went anywhere else besides work every day.

And to see if she did anything else.

She closed her eyes.

Time passed bit by bit in the silent stillness.

But Xu Mingyao remained unable to fall asleep.

As soon as she closed her eyes, those previously ignored details popped up one after another.

Occasional late returns, or even not coming home all night.

The first thing she did upon returning home was take a shower.

The sudden high-paying job she found.

Her fluctuating moods.

Countless suspicious details from the past flashed through Xu Mingyao's mind, stimulating her so much that she could not sleep at all.

Amidst her pain and inner turmoil, Xu Mingyao suddenly noticed a faint ray of light creeping into the dim room.

Only then did Xu Mingyao realize.

It was dawn.

The person beside her also began to stir at this moment.

Xu Mingyao kept her back to her, closed her eyes, made no sound, and quietly pretended to be asleep.

Through the bounce of the mattress beneath her and some subtle noises.

Xu Mingyao deduced that Tao Yaoyao was awake.

She got out of bed, stepped into her slippers, and gradually walked away.

The bedroom door closed softly.

Xu Mingyao knew Tao Yaoyao had left the bedroom.

But she did not move.

She just lay quietly on the bed, her eyes closed.

The exhaustion and suspicion of being awake all night left her unable to move even a single finger.

Right now, she just wanted to sleep for a while and gather some strength so she would have the energy to execute her stalking plan during the day.

But Xu Mingyao could not sleep.

She just could not fall asleep, no matter what.

In no time at all.

The bedroom door made a soft noise again.

Tao Yaoyao was back.

With her eyes closed, Xu Mingyao earnestly used her other senses aside from sight to perceive what Tao Yaoyao was doing.

Did she want to know what she would do while she was still asleep?

A faint bump.

Tao Yaoyao closed the door.

Approaching footsteps.

Tao Yaoyao was walking in her direction.

The soft mattress beneath her dipped slightly.

Tao Yaoyao climbed onto the bed.

Xu Mingyao could vaguely sense that Tao Yaoyao was not lying down.

She seemed to be kneeling on the bed with one knee, reaching her hand out toward her.

Xu Mingyao could not help but feel a little tense.

She did not know what Tao Yaoyao looked like when she could not see her. Did she have two different faces, acting completely different from how she usually was in front of her?

Xu Mingyao did not know.

But Xu Mingyao knew she would find out very soon.

After a brief yet seemingly endless wait.

Xu Mingyao felt Tao Yaoyao's smooth, warm hand.

She pulled at the blanket covering her.

And gently tucked in the corners.